October Road
by AlyssaFish
Summary: Some small stories concerning Cid and Leon.
1. Vernissage

So one October I decided to poke around Merriam-Webster Online and during my little adventure I discovered their "Word of the Day" feature. Just for the hell of it I copied down all 31 words to use as prompts for some Cid and Leon drabbles. Someone needs to tell that Cid exists, dammit.

1

**Vernissage**

"No, no, that'snot it."

Leon tapped his finger on the wooden table, brow creasing around the long scar above his nose. Squinting was starting to hurt. He thought a garden was a pretty good guess, too.

"S'too _modern_," Cid said. "Tha'sall. Gots all those fucking _colors_, likesa rainbow went an' had a piss on it."

"Actually, I think it looks kind of impressionistic."

Cid leaned back so far in the chair that Leon was afraid he was going to fall over. Cid effortlessly kept his heavy body balanced on the chair that was now standing on two legs as he rubbed his grizzled chin.

Leon tried tilting his head one way, then the other. It didn't help.

Then, Cid's face split into a wide grin.

"Got it," he said. "IgotitIgotit. Figured it out. Know what is?"

The old pilot spread his arms like he was getting ready to take off.

"_Me!_"

Leon considered. He tore his eyes from Aerith's painting and glanced at the bottle on the table. He decided that he was going to need a little alcohol to get through this after all.


	2. Ergonomic

This one didn't come out exactly like I wanted, but I still like the idea. It takes place after Cid and everyone had to abandon the Hallow Bastian, so Cid and Leon are younger than they are in the game. They've been living in Traverse Town for roughly one year.

2

**Ergonomic**

Traverse Town was forever dark and a mess of crowded buildings. If it wasn't for his garage, Cid would have felt very claustrophobic, because the town was just not a good place for flying. There was no place on the ground where a ship could take off and not crash into or impale everything within wingspan.

What Cid eventually discovered, spending long nights smoking and staring at the eternally starry sky, was that there was plenty of air if you just climbed high enough.

Cid had dragged Leon to the roof of the bell tower. It didn't take much too much pestering on Cid's part. Leon had been depressingly obedient ever since they had arrived, so he didn't complain as he helped Cid roll the small gummi plane, the Minute Gummi, into position.

"All right," Cid said, heavily putting one hand on the nose of the plane. "Get in, Leon."

Leon clenched his jaw. Something like surprise had flickered briefly in his cold eyes.

"…what?"

Cid scowled.

"You gone deaf or something? Get in, dammit, you're the one who's gonna fly her," Cid said. "I'm too heavy for this model. Got to start out small."

He had been working on it for months. Just another project, he said, another distraction. Another way to make Traverse Town a little bit better.

Leon didn't say anything right away. He studied the plane, eyebrows furrowing. Cid impatiently pulled off his pilot's jacket and thrust it into the boy's chest. Leon took it, frowning at the frayed patches. He put it on and climbed into the seat.

"Now, she's just a baby," Cid cautioned, eyes double checking the restraints Leon was sulkily buckling around himself. "So be careful for chrissakes. It's your first time and I don't want you screwing anything up too bad."

"Thanks," Leon said. For once, Cid ignored the sarcasm, because he was just too excited for his baby. Both of them.

One quick crash-course in the mechanics of flying and another _don't fuck up_ later, Cid was standing back, goggles drawn over his eyes, holding one hand up. The engine spluttered, then roared as the propeller started to beat steadily. Leon, taking this like he did everything, with far too much seriousness for a sixteen year old, was hunched over the controls, his silhouette blue and cold in the dark.

With a long whine and a roar, the plane took its first lunge into the sky. Cid didn't breathe as he watched it duck and catch the air, steadily rising up, up into the night.

It was not one of his better ideas.

As Cid watched the plane make a shaky turn over the Mad Hatter's shop, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach. If it had wings, Cid Highwind would find a way to keep it in the air. Flying came more naturally than breathing to him. As far as Cid knew, Leon had never flown so much as a kite before and now he was sitting miles above the ground, guiding the plane with all the grace of a Fat Body.

"What the hell," Cid roughly ran his fingers through his hair. The plane jerked as it crossed paths with a strong gust of wind.

It was more than the weight. Cid had made it just for him. He'd tried to make it as simple as possible. When he did the calculations and knew the cold equation just wouldn't hold him, he tried to build it so Leon could try and just for a minute, maybe see what Cid did whenever he dozed off behind the counter of the accessory shop.

Cid's fingers twitched. He wanted a cigarette, but he had to settle for chewing on the piece of straw in his mouth.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but he didn't think it was just Leon being a pansy with the controls. Something just didn't look right.

And he had been so proud of himself, too.

"Shit," Cid said.

The straw bobbed frantically as he gnawed.

The _Minute Gummi_ was definitely not supposed to be tilting like that.

"_Fuck_."

Cid was running. By the time he reached where the Gummi plane had crashed, he was winded, but he didn't stop. He tore through the wreckage of the left wing, scrambling to reach the cockpit. Leon was curled up inside, blood dribbling down the side of his face and neatly trickling over the line of the old scar.

"Shit, _shit_, Squall!" Cid grabbed his shoulder and shook the boy as hard as he could. "_Fuck_, dammit all seven hells, Squall! Leon! Say something! Say something, goddamit, say…"

Cid stopped. Leon's eyes hadn't opened yet, but something had been tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Cid was so scared he nearly wet himself. Leon was _grinning_.

"…Captain?"

"_What?_" Cid snapped, his heart pounding.

"My name is Leon."

Just like that, the grin was gone. Cid sank back on his heals, running a rough hand over his face.

"You crazy little shit, you could have _died_."

Leon sat up, gingerly rubbing at a swelling lump above his eye.

"I know."

Cid roughly pulled Leon out so he could quietly sit on the cobblestones while Cid surveyed the damage. Cid carefully lifted the wing to examine the side, and heard Leon speak.

"Can I try it again?"


	3. Majuscule

3

Majuscule

"God_dammit_!"

Leon looked up to find Cid, very red in the face, glaring down at the package he had just unwrapped. He stepped up to the counter and leaned over the side, craning his neck to see. It was a sign that the pilot had commissioned the Moogles for. It read:

_Sid's Accessory Shop._

Leon crossed the room and put one hand on the doorknob.

"I told you to write it down for them."

The door swung open and slammed shut just before the hunk of metal crashed into it.


	4. Nocuous

4

Nocuous

Leon rang the bell a third time. When there still was no answer, he put both hands on the counter and vaulted right over the cash register, almost landing on a sleeping Moogle. He let himself into the back room. Broken green glass crunched under Leon's boots as he looked behind a mountain of gummi blocks. Cid was sprawled on the ground, goggles askew and clutching a bottle in one hand. He glanced up at Leon with red eyes.

"Ran out of cigs," he said hoarsely, his voice thick. "Thur ain'no more left 'nthu whole damn world n'til summon plantsa goddamn toba'co field. _God_ I gotafuckin' _headache_."

Leon awkwardly stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and shuffled a bit because he didn't know what to do with himself. Cid continued to swear under his breath and tilt his head from side to side as he examined what was left in the bottle.

"…you know…I hear they're…uh…bad for you…" Leon tried. "…really fuck up your lungs, I guess…"

To Leon's utter horror, he saw tears springing up at the corners of Cid's eyes. He felt the bottom of his stomach drop and he would have given anything to melt into the floor. He wished Cid would just get up and punch him instead.

"Sheussed ta say thu same fuggin thing," Cid croaked before throwing his head back and taking a long drink. He finished and slumped against the boxes, eyes closing and head leaning back.

"_God damn it._"

Leon's fingers twitched nervously. He couldn't handle things like this. He wanted to say something, but he knew enough about himself by now to tell that whatever he had to say would just make it worse. Instead he turned around and left to go find Aerith.


End file.
